Favorite Mage build

[Dandu]

Which school or schools is/are suggested to prohibit in order to take the class?

Generally, it is suggested that you prohibit schools you either do not find useful or do not fit the character. I hear that Evocation, Enchantment, and Necromancy are popular choices.

 

[Xanti]

What about Divination?

 

[Wyvernhand]

3rd edition prohibits the banning of divination in all incarnations. Besides, why would you want to? Knowing is half the battle!

 

[xigbar]

Wizard 9/IotSV 7/Wiz 4

 

[Jester David]

I liked my summoner. Human conjurer with augment summoning, metamagic focus, and rapid spell. Summon as a standard action and dominate the battefield. Great crowd control.
I was planning on going for the Malcinvoker PrC from Ultimate Mage which would have been fun.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

We're getting closer to what I had in mind. I am looking at wizard/archmage, gotten from treantmonk's guide. I like the sounds of the necromancy specialization, spamming ray of enfeeblement and the like.

Archmage requires two spell focuses form different schools and skill focus(spellcraft).

Im thinking of spell focus(necromancy)for one.

Remaining questions: assuming a human wizard, I'd like some recommended feat trees for lvls 1-20, suggested high arcana and how many levels to take there.

I would start as wiz (nevromancer) take focused spec from complete mage, become a master specilist at 4th level at 8th level go lore master, then at 15th level go arcmage

20th level you will be a wiz 3/ master spec 4/lore master 7/ archmage 5


There is also a swap fro familiar for a specilist bonus but i cant find that book right now.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

nevromancer

I realize its a typo...but what a good name for a counterspeller/magical resource denier/Mage slayer.

 

[WarlockLord]

The Evilcaster.

You are a focused abyssal specialist wizard from Drow of the Underdark. You have the alternative class feature from Dragon 357 that makes all your spells evil spells. You then stack all the feats that improve evil spells: Spell Focus: Evil, Greater Spell Focus: Evil, Malign Spell Focus, Fiendish Power, etc. You get that stupid tick from Fiend Folio that auto-empowers all your evil spells.

So you give up 2 schools of magic for two spell slots per level (which can be used on anything), get your DCs high, maybe a couple of CL boosts, and all your spells are auto-empowered. And all you have to do is smoke some drugs or something.

 

[Nezkrul]

Wizard (abjurer) 3 / Master Specialist 10 / Initiate of the Seven Fold Veil 7 is fun

Wizard 6 / Geometer 5 / Loremaster 4 / Archmage 5 can also be fun if you play in a game where you need to be ready for pretty much anything (not specialized)

Wizard 10 / Ur-priest 2 / Mystic Theurge 8 has 9th level wizard and cleric spells at 20th (it is easier to do this with wizard than sorcerer because wizard gets more skill points and 2 bonus feats)

Necropolitan Human Wizard 10 / Tainted Scholar 10 = win, just keep casting spells and corrupt spells and watch your ridiculous bonuses keep cumulatively adding up, this guy is basically another Evilcaster build cuz all his spells have the evil descriptor and make him gain depravity taint (it forces you to make a will save to avoid gaining depravity but you are an evil undead guy so who cares? willingly fail it) [disclaimer note: if you try to do this in your game your DM might hit you with a book]

Human Bard 2 / Wizard 5 / Geometer 3 / Sublime Chord 1 / Ultimate Magus 9
-this one requires book keeping and math but you essentially end up with a ridiculous caster level for all your spells, and you have a lot of spells

 

[nijineko]

a sandshaper battle sorcerer. otherwise we'd be talking a psionic class.